Hennessy’s Index: October 2014

Hennessy’s Index is a monthly listing of numbers, written by the CCPA's Trish Hennessy, about Canada and its place in the world. For other months, visit: http://policyalternatives.ca/index

112,000

That’s the number of private sector jobs that disappeared in Canada in August 2014. [Source]

87,000

That’s the number of newly self-employed Canadians in August 2014. [Source]

20%

How much less a self-employed Canadian earns, on average, compared to a “regular employee”. [Source]

66%

That’s the participation rate in Canada’s labour market in August 2014 – the worst it’s been in 13 years. [Source]

22

That’s the percentage of low-paying jobs in Canada. By comparison, that’s high among wealthy OECD nations. [Source]

$27,800

That’s the median wage for individuals in Canada – meaning half of Canadians earn more than $27,800 a year and half earn less. OECD analysts define a low-paying job as one that pays less than two-thirds of a country’s median wage. [Source 1, 2]

14

That’s the percentage decline in quality jobs in Canada since the late-1980s, according to the CIBC’s Employment Quality Index. It’s a reflection in the rise of part-time jobs and self-employment as well as lower pay. [Source]

2

That’s the number of provinces in Canada that haven’t experienced a decline in quality jobs, according to the CIBC Employment Quality Index. That’s right, only two: resource-rich Alberta and Saskatchewan. [Source]

$15

That’s the hourly pay for the person serving your coffee over at Tim Horton’s in Estevan, Saskatchewan. [Source]

28,800,000

That’s how many pounds of fertilizer it would take if the previous Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan CEO had been given his $6,565,611 compensation package in the form of fertilizer instead of cash and stock options. [Source]

$11

That’s how much the person pouring your coffee at the Baker’s Dozen in Bowmanville, Ontario is earning an hour. In Ontario, that is the official minimum wage. [Source 1, 2]

$15

That’s the new federal minimum wage rate that the New Democrats will be campaigning on in the lead up to the 2015 federal election. [Source]

$7,960,300

That’s the average compensation of Canada’s highest paid 100 CEOs in 2012. Yeah, that’s a lot of digits. [Source]

$46,634

That’s the average wage in Canada in 2012. The country’s highest paid 100 CEOs earned that much cash by 1:11 pm on the first official working day of the year. [Source]